Refrigerator latch



June 16, 1936. Q E KE ET AL 2,044,500

REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed June 17, 1955 Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR LATCH Michigan Application June 1 7, 1935, Serial No. 26,898

2Claims. (01. 292-254) This invention relates to latches, particularly adapted for use on refrigerators. It is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide a relatively simple, economically constructed, durable and serviceable latch and one which may be readily tripped by an outward pull on a handle, and in which the closing of the door, after it has once been opened, automatically trips the latch so as to operatively engage the latch bolt with a restraining strike and hold the door in snugly closed position.

With our invention the movable latch bolt is mounted on the door frame or casing and the trip member, with which the latch bolt is operatively associated, is carried by the door. It is not necessary in closing the door to overcome the spring which operates on the latch bolt other than to break a toggle lever construction with which the spring and latch bolt are associated, though if by inadvertence the latch bolt should not occupy the position which it normally should have when the door is closed, the trip can ride over the projecting head of the latch bolt and. serve to actuate the latch so that the door will.

be properly closed and held in closed position.

The latch, which is the subject matter of the invention, and the detailed construction thereof, may be understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation illustrating all of the latch that appears as showing from the front of the refrigerator when the door is closed, that part of the latch which is mounted on the door frame or casing being completely covered.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through the door, the door casing or jamb and the latch substantially midway between the sides of said latch, the parts occupying the position shown when the door is closed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the latch.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 2 but with the latch parts occupying the position which they take when the door is open.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of th part of the latch which is attached to the edge of the door, the attaching screws being shown in section and the edge of the door being indi- Like reference characters refer to like parts in the difierent figures of the drawing.

In a refrigerator, the door l is hingedly mounted in the usual manner to close an opening at the front of the refrigerator box or casing and when closed comes against the door frame or casing 2,- there usually being a compressible rubber sealing strip between the door and easing as shown in Fig. 3.

The part of the latch which is attached to the door is located at the free vertical edge of the door and extends over the front side of the door frame or casing 2. In the construction, a channel shaped member of metal is provided having a bottom 3 and inner and outer sides 5 and 5 turned at right angles therefrom, the middle portion of said sides being extended a distance to provide spaced apart ears between which a handle is to be pivotally mounted, as hereinafter The bottom 3 of the channel member has an opening I l, the metal being cut from said bottom atthree sides, and turned back upon the outer side of the bottom 3 at 2 for a distance, and then turned outwardly at right angles making a terminal lip l3. This double thickness of metal, the base 3 with the part l2 bent back upon it, furnishes the strike for operating the latch bolt in closing the door as will hereafter appear. A handle it of sheet metal is mounted near its upper end on a pivot pin i5 between the ears 6. The handle has an inwardly extending ledge I1 at its extreme upper end which, as shown in Fig. 2, normally comes against the lip i3, being yieldingly held thereagainst by a coiled spring IS, the ends of which bear one against the ledge 11 and the other against the lug i. The channel member is covered, except at the side where it bears against the edge of the door, by a thin sheet metal casing l8 thereby covering the openings II) in the side 5 and causing the latch to present a more attractive and finished appearance.

The part of the latch mounted on the door frame or casing 2 which cooperates with the part of the latch mounted on the door comprises a well-like housing #9 of thin metal which is inthe finger 21 strikes the stop ledge 24.

the door casing, being open at its outer end and having laterally turned flanges 2| at said outer end through which screws 22 are driven into the door frame 2 to fasten the member l9 securely in place. The flanges are covered by a thin metal escutcheon cover plate 23. Adjacent the outer end and at the upper side of the member IS the metal is shaped and formed so as to provide a stop ledge -24 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

An irregularly shaped latch bolt 25 is pivotally mounted between its ends on a pivot pin 26 which extends between and is carried by the sides of 'the member l9 near the open outer end thereof so that the outer portion of the latch bolt extends in front of the front side of the door frame or casing. The bolt has an upwardly projecting finger 21 which, in the closed position of the door, may come against the stop ledge 24 (Fig. 2). At its outer end it is formed with a head 28 of the shape shown which, in the closed position of the door, rides in front of the strike member l2, and in such position the edge of the head 28 which bears against the strike is inclined upwardly and outwardly to the vertical, while the outer edge is of a curved cam-like form so that, under certain circumstances, the strike can ride over and depress the head in closing the door. At the inner end and upper side of the latch bolt 25 an integral stop lug 29 is provided.

The latch bolt is actuated by a coiled spring 30 mounted upon two bars 3| ,-headed at opposite ends, which slide past each other, the widened head of one of the bars being seated in a pivot recess at the inner end of the bolt 25, and the widened head of the other bar being seated in a recess in the bottom of the housing member 59. Compression of the spring member acts to hold the latch bolt in either of the extreme positions to which it is moved. That is, when the door is closed, the line of force of the spring passing below the axis of the pivot 26, tends to turn the latch bolt in a counterclockwise direction until In the other position, shown in Fig. 4, the line of force of the spring passing above the-axis of the pivot 26, tends to turn the bolt 25 in a clockwise direction until stopped by the lug 29 coming against the upper side of the housing member l9.

When the door is closed the parts occupy the position shown in Fig. 2. To open the door the depending end of the handle I4 is grasped and pulled outwardly and upwardly, whereupon the inner end portion of the ledge ll engages against theprojecting end of the bolt 25 turning the same in a clockwise direction or until the line of force of the spring 30 passes across and above the axis of the pin 26, after which the spring continues 2,044,500 serted into a cut out recess 20 in the body of the rotative movement of the latch bolt until the stop lug 29 strikes the housing member l9. During the time that the door is open the latch bolt occupies the position shown in Fig. 4. On closing the door the strike, consisting of the part l2 and that part of the bottom plate 3 under it, comes against the finger 27 thereby turning the bolt in a counterclockwise direction against the force of spring 30- until its line of force passes across and below the axis of the pivot 26, whereupon the spring continues the movement until the finger 2'l strikes against the stop ledge at 24. If, while the door is open, the latch bolt 25 should inadvertently be turned to the position shown in Fig. 2, the strike at l2 will ride over the head 28 until it passes the nose thereof and then will pass behind such nose and strike the finger 21 and automatically turn the latch bolt to the closed position, shown in Fig. 2.

The structure is easy to operate in opening and closing. It is relatively simple and economical to manufacture and serves to hold a refrigerator door in tightly closed position so as to prevent, to

a large degree, the entrance of heat into the chambers of the refrigerator.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a door and door frame thereof, said door having a pivoted handle member with a shielded surface thereon and a strike adjacent the handle, the combination of, a pivoted latching bolt located on the door frame, said latching bolt having a head extending therefrom, toggle spring direction causing movement of the latching bolt to its other extreme position.

2. In a combination of the class described, a well-like casing having a shoulder near its opening, a latching bolt pivoted near the top of said casing, said latching bolt having an actuating head extending outwardly through the opening of said casing, spring acting toggle means located between the latching bolt and the casing and a finger rigid with said latching bolt, said finger seating against the shoulder when the latching bolt is moved to one position and extending through the opening of the casing when the latching bolt is moved to another position.

CARL GESKE. CLYDE E. YOST. 

